BUY THIS BOOK
Print Book $34.99
Print Book £24.99
By David Sawyer McFarland
First Edition
August 2006
Pages: 494
Series: The Missing Manuals
ISBN 10: 0-596-52687-3 |
ISBN 13: 9780596526870
(Average of 5 Customer Reviews)
Cascading Style Sheets are now a reliable method for handling all kinds of Web page presentations -- from fonts and colors to page layout. But due to CSS's complexity most designers treat it as a kind of window-dressing to spruce up the appearance of their sites without tapping into the real power of CSS. CSS: The Missing Manual clearly explains this powerful design tool and how you can use it to build sparklingly new Web sites, or refurbish old sites that are ready for an upgrade.
Full Description
Web site design has grown up. Unlike the old days, when designers cobbled together
chunky HTML, bandwidth-hogging graphics, and a prayer to make their sites look good,
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) now lets your inner designer come out and play. But CSS
isn't just a tool to pretty up your site; it's a reliable method for handling all
kinds of presentation--from fonts and colors to page layout. CSS: The Missing
Manual clearly explains this powerful design language and how you can use it to
build sparklingly new Web sites or refurbish old sites that are ready for an upgrade.
Post-purchase benefits:
Like their counterparts in print page-layout programs, style sheets allow designers to apply typographic styles, graphic enhancements, and precise layout instructions to elements on a Web page. Unfortunately, due to CSS's complexity and the many challenges of building pages that work in all Web browsers, most Web authors treat CSS as a kind of window-dressing to spruce up the appearance of their sites. Integrating CSS with a site's underlying HTML is hard work, and often frustratingly complicated. As a result many of the most powerful features of CSS are left untapped. With this book, beginners and Web-building veterans alike can learn how to navigate the ins-and-outs of CSS and take complete control over their Web pages' appearance.
Author David McFarland (the bestselling author of O'Reilly's Dreamweaver: The Missing Manual) combines crystal-clear explanations, real-world examples, a dash of humor, and dozens of step-by-step tutorials to show you ways to design sites with CSS that work consistently across browsers. You'll learn how to:
- Create HTML that's simpler, uses less code, is search-engine friendly, and works well with CSS
- Style text by changing fonts, colors, font sizes, and adding borders
- Turn simple HTML links into complex and attractive navigation bars-complete with CSS-only rollover effects that add interactivity to your Web pages
- Style images to create effective photo galleries and special effects like CSS-based drop shadows
- Make HTML forms look great without a lot of messy HTML
- Overcome the most hair-pulling browser bugs so your Web pages work consistently from browser to browser
- Create complex layouts using CSS, including multi-column designs that don't require using old techniques like HTML tables
- Style Web pages for printing
Unlike competing books, this Missing Manual doesn't assume that everyone in the world only surfs the Web with Microsoft's Internet Explorer; our book provides support for all major Web browsers and is one of the first books to thoroughly document the newly expanded CSS support in IE7, currently in beta release.
Want to learn how to turn humdrum Web sites into destinations that will capture viewers and keep them longer? Pick up CSS: The Missing Manual and learn the real magic of this tool.
Register your book | Submit Errata | Tutorial Files
Browse within this book
Cover | Table of Contents | Index | Sample Chapter
Book details
First Edition: August 2006
Series:
The Missing Manuals
ISBN: 0-596-52687-3
Pages: 494
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 5 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
Tip For Using The Tutorial Files, June 21 2008
Rating:
Submitted by
SUPER DAVE
[Respond | View]
Awesome book!! I needed to learn CSS for my job. This has been an excellent book! One thing I had problems with was with the downloaded tutorial files. It may be just related to my PC? Long story short... When I tried to open up the .HTML files in Notepad, from all of the chapter files after unzipping them, Notepad did not render the code in a very readable way. I had to open each one in Wordpad, then edit/select all > copy. Then open the same file up in Notepad and paste the code from Wordpad and re-saved it with same file name. Now all files are readable when opening up in notepad. Not sure why my PC garbeled the code?
Anyway... just a tip if anyone else had that problem. Awesome book to learn CSS!!! I have read, or tried to read many before, and they mostly read like a reference book. This one you actually do hands on projects.
This book on CSS has style, April 10 2008
Rating:
Submitted by
Pam R
[Respond | View]
I loved this book! It held my attention, moved fast, I learned a lot and I had fun doing it. I expected a book on Cascading Style Sheets to be a bit on the dry side but found McFarland’s writing style not only easy to read but very enjoyable. His sense of humor would occasionally have me laughing out loud. The book is filled with information that is presented clearly. Some of the things about CSS that have left me a bit baffled in the past suddenly made sense.
The book begins with a brief overview of HTML that includes the reasons why Cascading Style Sheets are a better way to style web pages. It covers what HTML tags to eliminate and why to replace them with CSS. The chapters are set up with the information presented first and end with hands on tutorials complete with downloadable files. Being able to actually write CSS and apply what I’d learned was a great reinforcement.
CSS is covered from basic to advanced techniques in a way that keeps building on skills just learned. The attention focused on making it work in a variety of browsers including older ones was wonderful. For people like me that are not true professionals, browser variances are always a mystery. Not only are solutions to problems presented but the logic behind fixing them is shared.
The book also is loaded with CSS resources that include links to tutorials, bulletin boards and other sites for further education or help. You can find them both appropriately placed throughout the book as well as listed at the end. The only thing I would have liked to have included is a CD. The book ends with three Appendixes which recap CSS properties, cover Adobe’s Dreamweaver and list resources. That in itself was well worth the price of the book.
Find this book online at http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/csstmm/
Great CSS Primer and Beyond, December 19 2006
Rating:
Submitted by
Ivan
[Respond | View]
The book explains so much of CSS that I now feel quite comfortable doing design work, (D)HTML and AJAX client projects even though I'm a middle and back-end tier software engineer. Very good explanations and workarounds for browser quirks. I will no longer think of HTML as a design mechanism - only as a means to structure content. CSS is now my preferred way of designing websites.
Only one annoyance while reading this book (and it kept coming): the author's use of contractions seemed completely out of place! So much so that you have to re-read many of his comments in order to understand what he is saying. For example, the author writes, "A common technique's to float a <div> tag..." "...if the text is 1em and the line-height value's 1.5, then... the effect's no different than..." I'm not sure the author likes the word "is." It seemed the editor was asleep at the wheel on this one.
Anyway, my only gripe aside, this is a very, very good CSS book.
A very comprehensive reference guide, December 18 2006
Rating:
Submitted by
Boson Au
[Respond | View]
This is one of those rare gems of a reference guide that manages to build a solid foundation and go from there to a comprehensive and detailed guide to CSS.
The author does not cut any corners: the first part of the book establishes the philosophy of using CSS versus plain old HTML, along with laying down the necessary (and often overlooked) information (ie: the right docType to use, how inheritance really works, how multiple CSS files play with each other, etc.)
All this preliminary information is followed by a well-organized exploration of CSS. The second part deals more with text and margins and more formal methods of formatting content, as well as using CSS to spice up site navigation without sacrificing standards. I appreciate the author's discussions on the different opinions on em's versus pixels, not to mention his easy to read prose. All in all, the book presents the true meat of CSS to users in the second part.
The third part of the book is devoted to layout and positioning. It is here that the user will discover the ins and outs of floating elements and how to use them. This has always been a weak area of mine so this was very helpful.
The book ends with information on good practices for CSS. I am as guilty as the next guy in that more often than not my stylesheet is a mess of ill defined classes and elements. This section is for that.
This book is for both beginners and experienced code monkeys. Beginners with benefit from the meticulous and careful pace off the book while experienced users will most likely find one or two clever tidbits to add to their repertoire.
Finally, a CSS book I like, November 09 2006
Rating:
Submitted by Anonymous Reader [Respond | View]
To start off I should mention that this is my first CSS book. Prior to getting this book I would flip through CSS books in the bookstore and never found anything I found helpful at first glance. Having minimal knowledge of CSS and only really modified existing code I was looking for a good first book to get me started. As it turns out, this is that book.
I have found CCS The Missing Manual to be a very good resource and an interesting read. The author has a witty and engaging writing style that draws you on through the book, unlike some dry manuals I have experienced.
The author assumes the reader has some knowledge of HTML. The book starts out with a brief review of HTML with tidbits of history along the way. All through the book the author offers information highlights on various subjects for those people who want more. After looking at how page formatting works with basic HTML the author jumps in to CSS.
One thing that I really like about this book is that the author doesn’t just dump a bunch of information on you and expect you to figure out how to put it to use on your own. Each chapter has exercises to complete that take you through the material covered. The code for these exercises can be downloaded from the author’s website.
In addition to being introduced to the various CSS tags and how to successfully use them the author also covers browser problems that occur, especially with Internet Explorer 6. I was also surprised to find that this book covers Internet Explorer 7, which has only recently become available to the public.
The author devotes a chapter on how to create print style sheets for pages that need to be printed. And the last chapter gives recommendations on how to improve you CSS. The book also includes three appendixes, the first is a CSS property reference, the second gives an overview of how to generate style sheets in Dreamweaver 8, and the last appendix is references.
Check out the TOC online for a full description of the book contents:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/csstmm/toc.html (http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/csstmm/toc.html)
CONCLUSION
--
I have enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those looking to learn CSS or use it as a reference. Parts I found appealing were the hands-on exercises that went along with the instruction. Being a big fan of the O’Reilly Nutshell books, I also liked that the book includes a CSS reference to flip to.
Media reviews
"...the author does a commendable job of clearly explaining all of the essential topics that the typical developer would need to understand."
-- Michael J. Ross, Web Developer, Slashdot.org
"If you're tired of trying CSS tutorials that leave you more confused afterwards than you were going in, stop the madness and invest in this manual. I am only half way through the tutorials and, already, this author has cleared up so many things that I hadn't been able to quite grasp before. "
-- T. Moore, Amazon
"Between the informal writing style and the great step by step tutorials, this book makes learning about CSS quite painless and in fact fun. Whether it's formatting text, creating margins and borders, adding graphics, site navigation or formatting tables, there's a wealth of information here. I used to think CSS was something somehow scary and too difficult to learn. And now I instead realize it's a way to make web sites look awesome without having to resort to JavaScript, Perl or any other web site language (although clearly they can be beneficial too). "
-- Todd Hawley, Amazon
"I'm curently finding The Missing Manual one of the better such volumes, for starters because it's very dense, something I value in tech books: the thing is packed with non-trivial examples, sidebars that actually contain useful information, lots of links to external resources, etc. The presentation is also very thorough: I think I finally really understand when to use relative versus absolute positioning."
-- Chris Dickman, Graphic Design Forum
"Overall, the book is an excellent resource for learning CSS. The tutorials are in-depth and reinforce the material previously learned. If you're new to CSS, or if you want to thoroughly understand the subject, get this book for your reference shelf."
-- Lee Underwood, WebRef
"With so many books on CSS, why would you want this one? Because it truly teaches the correct method of working with style sheets. It can take you from the very basic to the very sophisticated in a reasonably short time. From his methodology it seems that David McFarland, a developer by trade, is a teacher by vocation. That certainly comes across in his style and writing. If you were to buy only one book on CSS, CSS: The Missing Manual should be it."
-- T. Michael Testi, Blogcritics.org
"McFarland, begins by showing you how to create style sheets and provides an overview of key CSS concepts, like inheritance, selectors and the cascade. Then, the author takes you into the real world of Web design. Next, he helps you with one of the most confusing, but most rewarding, aspects of CSS: controlling the placement of elements on a page. Finally, he shows you how to make web pages look good when printed. "
-- John R. Vacca, Tech Write Independent Reviewer, Amazon
"You bet. It's the book I've been waiting for - really clear and informative. I especially appreciate all the clever CSS hacks"
-- Leo Laporte, this WEEK in TECH
"This is much easier to digest than some of the more formal reference manuals I've seen in the past, and there's not as much focus on the minutia of every little variant that can happen. This is the material you'll use 95% of the time...Armed with this book, a newbie would be able to become competent in CSS. And if you've been doing CSS for awhile, there's a strong chance that McFarland will deliver some nuggets that will take you to the next level. I know that'll be the situation in my case."
-- Thomas Duff, Duffbert's Random Musings
"One of the beauties of the Missing Manuals is that there is always something new to discover and the research is quite thorough...I kept finding snippets of information, in the way of Tips or Notes, that would give just that bit extra."
-- Graham K. Rogers, Bangkok Post
"It is about as good a general introduction to the subject as anything I have found, and if you are curious about CSS and what all the shouting is about, this is the place to go...if you are curious about CSS, or if you know about CSS and need a convenient handbook explaining the many things you can use CSS to do, you’ll want this book. Recommended. "
-- Jerry Pournelle, Chaos Manor Musings
"There are a lot of good books, but I keep returning to the Missing Manual series because they are inexpensive, easy to read and full of cool tricks and tips."
-- Bob Brooks, The South Bay Apple Mac User Group
"Overall, the book is a great read and recommended for anyone serious about designing professional websites. The chapters are broken up appropriately giving readers a gradual progression into the world of Cascading Style Sheets without too much detail at once...I really enjoyed the overall pace of the book and found Appendix A with the entire CSS property list to be most helpful. "
-- Nick Parsons, Amazon.com
"The author provides dozens of hands-on tutorials and real-world exercises that can lead the reader to an understanding of how to apply Cascading Style Sheets to their Web sites. The techniques can not only provide more sophisticated page layout and structure, but can produce code that loads faster and is easier to maintain and update. The author gets the reader involved immediately with more than 100 pages of hands-on page-building tutorials. HTML, within the context of CSS, is introduced for those who are unfamiliar with the language. Experienced Web page designers will see HTML in a new context, and benefit from the review."
-- Michael Kleper, The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing
"Over a hundred pages of tutorial exercises offer a real-world opportunity to see how tested web pages work and how to implement advanced functions. A top pick."
-- The Midwest Book Review
"With so many books on CSS, why would you want this one? Because it truly teaches the correct method of working with style sheets. It can take you from the very basic to the very sophisticated in a reasonably short time. From his methodology it seems that David McFarland, a developer by trade, is a teacher by vocation. That certainly comes across in his style and writing. If you were to buy only one book on CSS, CSS: The Missing Manual should be it."
-- T. Michael Testi, Blogcritics.org
"The author does a marvelous job of explaining the core constructs of CSS while keeping the reader engaged, and this is a mighty task with CSS. But he succeeds. On top of all this, the tutorials are perfect icing on the cake and will certainly make your coast-to-coast flights seem like a commuter hop."
-- Ken Garove, Blog
"I have never seen a manual for any program, hardware or OS which is anywhere close to this series in its helpfulness to the reader. Anyone other than the well trained techs can find this book valuable."
-- Ray Bowler, Vice President, Des Moines Macintosh User's Group
"CSS: The Missing Manual is a useful CSS resource for intermediate to advanced web designers who have experience with HTML and CSS. The writing is friendly and informative, the content is well-organized, and the book's formatting makes it very easy to use chronologically or as a reference manual. Each topic is covered with examples of code and screen shots to demonstrate the concepts presented. This series of books also uses a special durable and flexible "lay-flat" binding that makes it easy to have the book stay open without cracking the spine or using heavy objects to hold it down...I would highly recommend this book as a valuable instructional and reference manual for intermediate to advanced web designers."
-- Ruth Kalinka, TangoAngel: Philadelphia Area Computer Society
"Whether you are new to CSS or a current user who wants to do more with this design and layout resource, David McFarland's CSS: The Missing Manual is an excellent choice for your resource library. It is an outstanding reference tool."
-- Ginny Hudak-David, Technical Communication
"I have reviewed quite a number of Missing Manual books and I am always impressed with them. David Pogue is a Mac master and the depth of his knowledge shines through."
-- Roger Bernau, ACT Apple User Group Incorporated
"In summary, the book CSS: The Missing Manual is a nice book that can enrich your web development knowledge, improve your web literacy and make you proud of the mastery of web management skill whether you are a web site novice or a web development veteran."
-- Jin Yang, The Bridge
